3 posts tagged “coffee”
There are two new items on my food radar that I can't help raving about.
Last night Sadie and I tried the fare at the new Woodland Grill, chef Jonathan Lundy's latest venture, and left very satisfied. Per Lundy's style the dishes were standard menu fare with a Southern or Kentucky twist, but the real winner was dessert. The dessert menu is limited, but all of the choices looked fabulous. One stood out though: Refried Spalding's Doughnuts with Jonathan's Vanilla bean ice cream.
First things first: a Spalding's doughnut is perhaps one of the finest creations on Earth to begin with. They are not your typical doughnut, especially if you're familiar with the Krispy Kreme style. Rather a Spalding's doughnut is a misshapen lump of dough, deep-fried in soybean oil. They are crispy like a fritter and two of them will send you into a euphoric sugar high for hours.
So the dessert starts there. The doughnuts are then refried, and sliced in half bagel-style. A dollop of the handmade ice cream is placed on top and the entire thing is drizzled in caramel sauce. Yes, it's probably a few days worth of calories, but so worth it.
I also had my first Toddy coffee today. In 1964 Todd Simpson developed a method of cold-brewing coffee, that is now commonly referred to as the Toddy method. This method strips the coffee of a lot of the bitterness and acidity of traditional brewing methods. What you end up with is a concentrated coffee that hot or cold water is added to when ready to drink. I'm having my second iced Toddy as I write this, and can vouch that it is a very mild, but full-flavored coffee. A very pleasant drink.
What's your favorite blend or brand of coffee or tea?
Being a Louisiana boy, when it comes to coffee I'd prefer to make mine Community Coffee. Preferably their Dark Roast. However here in Lexington I stick with the whole bean Columbian coffee sold and packaged by Kroger.
Until recently, as much as a coffee connoisseur I am, I've been content drinking instant coffee in the mornings. More for the quick convenience than anything. Mind you I don't consider IC to be the same thing as brewed coffee. It's a tasty warm beverage deserving its own category.
This week though I switched back to the real thing: fresh ground beans steeped in my Bodum French press. Man how I missed that rich flavor. It'll be a while before even convenience sends me back to instant.
For the past few weeks I've been trying to cut back my caffeine intake for a variety of reasons. However since making that decision I've been consuming more caffeine than ever. It's a bit of self-sabotage I can't get a handle on.
Caffeine is a need for me. My brain is steeped in fog until that first cup of coffee. I'm not trying to go cold turkey. I do want to cut back though. For one thing it's a drug, and I'm addicted. I don't like the idea that a chemical, albeit a mild one, has dominance over me. Also I've read articles that suggest that caffeine intake can lead to stress that in turn causes weight gain.
Plus caffeine just makes me feel horrible once I've crossed that line into too much of the stuff. I get jittery, lose focus, and generally grumpy. So I need to cut back.
Caffeine intake often perpetuates many of the factors contributing to weight gain and continued obesity. Coffee and caffeine intake aggravates stress, including physical, mental, and emotional stress, leading to increased levels of the glucocorticoids including cortisol. A well documented relationship exists between chronically elevated levels of these stress hormones and deposition of excess fat in the abdomen leading to obesity as well as increased caloric intake, particularly increased ingestion of fats and sugars.
I keep telling myself I'll have one cup of coffee with breakfast, and maybe a Coke Zero with lunch. What actually happens is I end up having my morning cup at home, then brewing an entire pot at work and consuming it at a manic pace before lunch. At lunch I'll have my Coke Zero or more coffee followed on some days by an afternoon pot of coffee.
Gluttony is the word that comes to mind. I consume each cup in a daze, not entirely clear how many I've drank before, wishing my mug was empty so I can refill it for another round. It's self-sabotage at it's highest and I can't find the root cause.
Next week I'm ramping up my efforts. I have a pretty strong will in other cases. I manage to avoid fast-food and bakery goods in a workplace where they're as abundant as water. I know I can do the same with coffee.
